Dragon Age 2 Reviews: BioWare and Gamers Disappointed

By: | March 13, 2011 | 34 Comments
Dragon Age 2 Reviews: BioWare and Gamers Disappointed

We’ve seen quite a few different reviews for the recently released Dragon Age 2 game now and just as expected, they are not all positive. In fact, as we previously mentioned, Edge magazine gave the role-playing game a disappointing score of 6/10.

However, some of our readers felt that the score was totally justified, with some even stating that they too were disappointed with the game. One gamer even went as far as describing the combat as boring and the characters as dull.

As Gary Johnson recently noted, the Dragon Age 2 game is not a direct sequel to the Dragon Age: Origins title, and that is perhaps why some gamers have been left feeling disappointed with the second installment. Although as the saying goes, you can’t please everyone.

Robert Purchese over at eurogamer.net got a chance to interview Mike Laidlaw – the lead designer of the Dragon Age 2 game – recently, and asked him what he thought of the criticism. As Mike pointed out, they knew that making changes would carry some sort of risk.

When asked what he thought of the current Metacritic score of 82 percent, he did say that it is a little lower than what they expected. He then explained that as a studio, BioWare aim for a score of above 90. Have you had a chance to play the game yet? If so, what is your opinion?

Download our free iPhone and iPad apps, or read more in Gaming, Sony Playstation 3, Xbox 360.

 Get Our News On Social Networks

Join our LinkedIn GroupFollow us on StumbleUpon

Share this article

 
  1. Dragon Age 2 Controversy: Ban and Reviews Dragon Age 2 Controversy: Ban and Reviews
  2. BioWare: Dragon Age 2 DLC designed around consumer feedback BioWare: Dragon Age 2 DLC designed around consumer feedback
  3. Dragon Age 2: Bad Review From Edge – Justified or not? Dragon Age 2: Bad Review From Edge – Justified or not?
  4. Dragon Age 2 (Xbox 360, PS3): Release date revealed already by BioWare 2? Dragon Age 2 (Xbox 360, PS3): Release date revealed already by BioWare 2?
 
Next Story: SDTV vs. HDTV: Dragon Age 2 is not considerate
Previous Story: HTC Thunderbolt’s release on Verizon, theoretically soon
Tags: , ,
  • GamingShark

    I am about a third of the way through (I think) and I love it so far. I am a little disappointed that there is not as much banter between the characters and you can't stop to chat to them very often. The world is not as vast and has been criticized because of it, but I don't see that as problem. You still go to just as many spots, they just happen to be in and around Kirkwall. The characters, perhaps because of the lack of banter, don't seem quite as detailed to me. They have some good story lines and I care about them, but not as much as the ones in DA:O …yet. I read a review that said it was a slow burner and things start to come together more towards the end. I look forward to this. I am by no means bored, it is a fantastic, beautiful and exciting game. I just wish Bioware kept a few of the best things about DA:O.

    This one plays a bit more like Mass Effect 2, which I loved, so you really can't go wrong with the formula, but I can see why the die hard DA:O fans might not like all the changes.

  • Michael

    I am loving it. I played the original and thought that it was great too. I THINK I am getting near the end of the game and I have no real complaints. The only confusing thing so far for me was a character suddenly fell in love with me even though I wasn't persuing them. Still, nothing to be mad about.

    • RICK

      Nothing to be mad about? this game is a steaming pile of crap-and THAT'S being generous-no serious rpg gamer could possibly find anything redeeming in this hollow,repetitive, boring,awful cash grab..my advice? go back to playing black ops,boy.You wouldn't know a good game if it smacked you across the face,and your affinity for this title proves just that.ONE OF THE WORST SEQUELS OF ALL TIME..BAR NONE!!

  • Kay

    I just finished one aspect of the game. Were they just being lazy and banking on the success of the previous DA? Seriously, the dungeons and caves were all the exact same map scheme. The cameos of former characters was a nice touch but could have made them look like they did in the previous game. I didn't recognize Alistair. Some of the changes were welcomed but the game itself was not what I expected. Also, why the hell did the female Hawke run like a power walking old woman?

  • billy

    Just completed the game and having loved DA:O and DA:A I was disappointed by DA2. It seems as though they took dragon age, stripped it of most of it's fun and then patched together some basic premises they took from mass effect 2. The characters are dull and after the first two hours your entire 'team' is assembled leaving the next 15/20 hours of 'pick up this' 'give it to this guy' 'oh no, he's become a spirit *shock* kill him' the missions are generic, overly repetitive and all seem to be played in the same areas. All the 'caves' are the same three or four areas played backwards or forwards with different entrances and exits, mobs and loot … yawn. To try and make the game more accesible (i believe) they added a narrative where-by the entire story is held in the context of your story being told afew years later so the game is played through a series of 'flashbacks' years apart, this just frustrated me, the game didn't progress naturally at all and the ending was disappointing and abrupt yet drawn out and predictable.

    There's no main 'story' just a serious of over-hanging 'issues' to be dealt with (well, 3) each of which surrounded by a serious of side-quests some amusing but most generic and dull.

    Not to say the game is all bad, it's just not what i had hoped for.

    Looks like I'll have to wait until autumn and elder scrolls 5 …

  • Kyle

    I burnt thru the game in a couple of nightly game sessions. It should take me a lot longer to be working on my second complete playthru. I enjoyed the new gameplay, but just because there is action…. It shouldn't take away from the roleplaying ability. I think they did a good job with the "Hawke" persona, and the story was good, but lack of actual effects of your imported game save, sure getting Alistair to show up, and even Flemeth had me interested but never truly delivered.

    Half of what it should be, a step closer then most have ever gotten. If they come thru with multiple expansions and DLC worth it, they can still save this sinking ship.

  • Guy

    I finished the game and i think most of the side quests in about 35-40 hours, so the game is pretty big. But it just didn’t have as much depth as DAO and DAA. no codex entries, barley any banter with companions, and quite a limited plot. the plot itself seemed good but it was ruined because ud play it essentially in 4 quests, which themselves could be done in 10 hours (getting to kirkwall, funding deep roads, defeating qunari, final quest). also i hate the new items in the game, everything is a ring, amulet, robe, sword, and such other generic names. visually the game to me looks worse than DAO, the character details are shocking. the armour all looks bland and hawks head looks so cubic. my final and prehaps biggest problem with the game though. is the map size. having only Kirwall to play in really again made the game seem small, and made it lack depth, not to mention the fact that so much of the caves and other area maps were constantly repeated. Overall I am really disappointed, fingers crossed DA3 looks and plays better.

  • chris

    I don't know what all the fuss is about, personally I think its a great game. I played the first one and awakening and finished them two weeks ago as I got them in Feburary. So my memories of the first were still very fresh. I feel that the new one has certainly improved both graphically and combat wise as it all feels alot more fluid and natural. I'm only 8 hours in and am happy that I have a long way to go yet. There are codex entries all over the place although ther ar'nt called codex I don't think. I love this game for what it is a bit of escapism I think sometimes its too easy to critisize games these days and reviewers forget that it is only their opinion, as this is mine for the number of those who dislike the game there are those who like it. Saying all that I do have one critisim and its the same in Mass effect sometimes when you select an answer to a question you read it one way and the actual statement in full said by the character is said with a different connetation than you expected. As I discovered when talking to one of the male characters LOL luckily I headed that one off at the pass LOL. But after this ramble if I was scoring it myself on what I have played so far I'd say 8.5/10 were DAO would have been 9. Also listen to the NPCs some funny little throw away comments about real events and life in there (or seem to be)

  • Moe

    I finished the game and it sucked. needed more storyline / better storyline / more time to use the good items / fuck it was just to short and all centralised around the 1 city not like DAO where u got to explore difference cities.

  • tony

    The game was short, offered very little in a "story" and although there are choices, they just provide the illusion of choice. Played the game twice and with completely different characters (nice guy rogue and evil-girl mage). results in the beginning, middle and end were exactly the same. The only difference is who in your party you decide to die, live or leave. Not a big deal since all the characters were backstabbers, crooks and psychopaths. Even the removal of said offender characters did not change major events, they'd would just show up later for their "part" in the game. The characters by and large did not have ANY reason to be with and/or around Hawke after the first year. If you are a mage, most your characters describe their disgust for you and yet stick around 'till the end to back-stab you. Playing as a mage, there was never any "issues" with Templars EVER. Yet you can hunt down Templars who bother other excaped (apostate) mages, slaughter them and never hear another word on it. Yet, if playing a male character and you still have your sister Bethany, she gets taken to The Circle by one lone Templar and you are powerless to do anything…really? I didn't have an issue with the game taking place in one city, what I had a problem with was the lack of atmosphere. Most areas are dead during day hours and there seems to be more activity at night just by the number of thugs you get attacked by.
    other issues: copy and pasted dungeons. The menus are messy, although improved over first. No auto-sort function (something that has been in RPGs since the NES days). Stat menus largely make no sense and there is no "codex" that helps you go over these; some things percentages, some things numbers. Weapon/armor/equipment stats are messy and difficult to compare and mainly are generic named so you can't tell one piece from another except by looking at each piece individually; very time consuming. Hawke's cousin that appears near the end seemed to be a future worthwhile ally but she plays a very small role afterwords. Hawke needs better friends, how many would have friends that would blow up central government agency or cause a small civil war to break out and expect a pat on the back from someone who holds a lot respect and honor in a city?

  • Eli

    I started out thinking the game was going to be much improved on DA1. I too ended up coming away disappointed. The gameplay is very boring and repetitive. Ever play a boss fight in a video game that involves waves of enemies pouring from every crack in the wall? That's every fight in DA2.

    I was most disappointed with the story. There's no overarching story. It reads more like a political story that details the environment of a city that led up to an important event. I kept thinking, "This is when things will come together and the story will start to get good." Then the credits rolled, and I couldn't believe what a waste the game had been.

    The game really felt like nothing more than a long chain of subquests I did not care about. A lot of things happened, but none of them were important.

  • Greg

    "This is when things will come together and the story will start to get good." Then the credits rolled, and I couldn't believe what a waste the game had been.

    The game really felt like nothing more than a long chain of subquests I did not care about. A lot of things happened, but none of them were important." – Eli.

    I completely agree 100% on this comment, i thought the story of becoming the champion was merely the start of the game, it took me 13 hours to complete everything. Most of the story seemed somewhat contradictory in parts. Your uncle steals all your wealth, yet you still remain to keep him around. He then accuses you of killing your own mother when you blame yourself. I didn't even get the full champion set which annoyed me, i thought i had plenty of time and that this game would last 20-30 hours like the first one lasted me. I agree also with the repetitive dungeons and maps, everything is re-used and nothing really changes.

    What did i like? The new fighting system seemed more natural and flowing. Each character having specialised trees e.g. the elf mage with her natural/blood magic tree.

    Overall comparing this game to the first, i would rate it somewhere between 5/6. I was expecting far more, this game felt like a DLC and for the 39.99 pounds i paid, i feel some what aggrieved for even purchasing it. That said the third addition, has a storyline which sounds massively promising, i hope that bioware realise how trying to be lazy has failed them on this game. I honestly thought bioware were a very reputable company however they have shown there true colours with this game, it felt like they were just cashing in on their existing success of DA:O.

  • warden commander

    the dragon age origins was very good game in all ways.dragon age 2 has a good story ,sorry to say the sword fights was not good,it was like iam playing devil may cry if the sword would be same as dragon age it would be awesome.thanks to bioware for designing a wonderful game.hope i will be waiting for another dragone age 3 with the same sword fight that i had in dragon age.god bless bioware team.

  • DisappointedDA2

    DA2 is like the movie Groundhog Day…. haven't I seen/played/fought in this room/map/area before? Obviously all the code went into making attacks pretty – particularly mage attacks. I really didn't care about my companions beyond making them stronger to beat waaaay over-powered rouges. Archers and healers are almost useless. The cooldown time on a basic heal spell is ridiculous. This sort of invalidates investing lots of willpower points for healers. Story was OK, not great. I've replayed DA:O maybe 4 or 5 times and could easily do another. I can't see myself replaying this more than twice. I've already told friends don't buy, just borrow my copy and return to me. It feels more like DragonAge 2: Hawke (The Force) Unleashed.

  • mrobs

    Just go look at the user reviews on metacritic. 4.2 as of a few minuets ago. Completely accurate too.

  • John

    The game was rushed out, the plot is half-baked and the stun lock is rather frustrating.

  • Maran

    Finished this a few days ago. It is okay as an Action RPG, but falls short of an in depth title. There is some of what made Dragon Age Origins great, and some terrible design decisions which defy logic.

    Pros:
    1, Humor, the companions had some great lines!

    2, Return of a few old faces but once again few major parts for loved characters. Thankfully the new characters are quite a lot of fun, but lack any what I would call evil characters. Chaotic Neutral at best.

    3, Somewhat more balanced classes, with melee two handers being the new arcane mages. You can still make tank mages, when you understand how overpowered AOE is generally and how blood magic can also become overpowered once again.

    4, Generally speaking if you just want to blow off some steam and not care about what you are killing or why, it is an enjoyable experience in maybe 30 minute bursts.

    5, Interface is fine. I didn’t really care about the small odd bugs with character faces or camera angles being limited so it works and is practical.

    6, Couple of great quests amongst the many terrible ones. The Serial killer quest was an example of what Dragon Age Origins was in many ways, a small glimpse of greatness in its urgency to find your mother.

    Cons:

    1, Repetitive Areas, which limit the desire to finish the quests let alone replay anything.

    2, Limited Armor selection, making for more basic gameplay. AOE everything = win, making for completely mindless combat unless you are playing on nightmare.

    3, Your quest choices don't effect the story, they just add fluff; it is tough to shake the feeling and that is the biggest disappointment of all. This problem is even more exaggerated with the reuse of areas.

    4, No real ending for the companions we'd spent 50 hours or so with, what happened to anyone? No Epilogue, no closure. Knowing bioware they won't wrap this up in the sequel either as we'll have all new characters.

    5, Bad pacing and quest design at times. I hinted this above, the serial killer quest finding your mother is a great quest and an example of feeling compelled to finish it. As an example of bad pacing, I'd finished quests before being told I had them, which in my first hour or two confused the hell out of me. Pick up an item in an office and talk to a random NPC – then i'd been reward with no idea I had a quest or any dialogue except a thank you, bizarre, and no RP'ing except fetch – carry, only they even missed out that bit.

    6, A further example of pacing problems, waves of enemies making all fights feel the same, bar one or two boss battles which thankfully break up the repetitive AOE, AOE, AOE, Heal (Maybe or just yawn), AOE combat.

    7, Too few healer NPCs.

    8, No Mod Support to fix the above or give us replay value, which this title really needs help with being set in the same landscapes. With Mod tools people could have fixed the waves and perhaps opened up a few new areas but no dice.

    9, Reusing the same concepts all the way through the game.

    Bandit Waves
    Demons, Demons, Demons
    Mages and Templars are all insane, I didn't find much attachment to any of them, and to be honest wanted an option to kill them both at the end of it all. At the end of it all though it doesn't matter a bit, as it all players the same anyway.

    10, Less interaction with companions, and instead being forced to run around the city (Again) just to talk to them.

    11, I can’t name an area of the game which was made more complex, engaging or added any depth, not one.

  • erick

    i second everything tony and eli just said. i just kept telling myself that davied gaider didnt write this and bioware and ea will be mad and they will make up for it down the road. but then the cradis came and my jaw droped. i just can not believe that these great game makes made this. and they seem proud? too dissapointing. makes me a little scared for mass effect 3. . .

  • Bogwhoppit

    I finished this a few days ago, I think it is very pretty. I like Hawke, LOVED Varric. I wish the Anders character had been handled better – ok so he was a "changed man" and all, but I just feel he was sold quite short and I was really unhappy with his part to play. It would have been more interesting to me if his relationship with Hawke had brought him peace and someone else had subsequently done what he did. Maybe I just have quite a soft spot for the Da:A Anders and felt he got a bit shafted here. To be blunt the other characters were just there as filler for me, I didnt really care about any of them – Fenris showed promise, but go-od he's whiny.

    As a female player I thought the romance options were dull… almost like they were added as an afterthought – there was none of the "aww that's SO sweet!" moments as there were with Alistair in the first game for example. Or the giggling at Zevran's latest pervy comment. I did notice some of the old characters making appearances, but just felt these could have been made more of, they just felt like an excuse to recycle rather then create new.

    I did have an issue with the fighting.. have a wave of adds… have another wave of adds… have some more adds… "wake up! – There's more adds!"

    I also felt that none of my decisions actually made a difference to the end game at all. I am aware that it needed to follow a basic story, but I think if you give choices then make them actually change things or dont give them at all. I also agree that there was really no wrapping up of the story and the DA:O and DA:A influences were so weak as to have not bothered importing them imo.

    I wanted to love this game. All in all – it's not awful, but it does feel like it's all flash and no substance really and the biggest shame of it all for me is that the potential is all there.. just never delivered.

  • Hunter

    There were a lot of things I liked and disliked. Graphics and combat were a lot better to look at. Thats about all the improvements I saw. The choices made in Origins had almost no effect in this game! I was looking forward to seeing my choices having a influence in this game. Most disappointing is how often you visit the same dam locations for 50 hours! Origins enabled you to explore so many places. How could bioware think it'd be entertaining to explore the same dam areas over and over again??? SPOILER: Bioware lets players make decisions right? No matter what Hawkes mom dies, No matter whos side you take(templars or mages) is the same outcome! AHHHHH killin me right now… Why couldnt Bioware just continue Origins with a sequel to the Warden Commander story ='[

  • Saddened

    This isn't really about the changes. The effort on this was lack luster at best. It feels like the sky was the limit on the first game and this time around the directive was to spend as little time, effort and money as possible. I hope this is not what we should expect for Mass Effect III :-(

  • Astaroth

    It's a bad sequel but a very good game.

    If you haven't played it yet, think of it as Dragon Age V2 1, not as Dragon Age 2. Having that on mind sure you will not be dissappointed.

    Dragon Age Origins is one of the best RPGs ever made. Dragon Age 2 is too dumbed down compared to Origins that sometimes you think if it's was made for brainless people (in the cover of the game it should say 'Don't think! Just fight!'. Dragon Age V2 1 is a very good straight on and simple RPG.

    Dragon Age Origins: 10/10
    Dragon Age 2: 6/10
    Dragon Age V2 1: 8.5/10

    Bad work, Bio. If you start loosing your 'special touch' on games for just some extra bucks you will lose your awesome and well earned reputation.

  • Enlightend

    The people that say that the game playing out around the main city isn't to bad, I would agree, if the same thing wasn't happening with the story itself.

    Its Reality TV, reality with a bit of extra drama and some monsters and mages added, but nothing Epic.

    Ok, after the game they say that you kinda started a world war, but during the game, you don't get any feeling of a grand unfolding story at all.

    The combat is nice early on, but gets booring rather quick, the moment you have a tank/healer/ranged/melee setup going, you don't have any problems in any of the fights, heck, some fights I was left with 1 party member and for some reason (Merril) took down the demon that spawned on her own.

    If I would describe the story in terms of WoW gear, its all greens with completely wrong stats.

  • Jonas

    Finished, disappointed and feel cheated by BioWare. This is nothing like its predecessor. No central plot/story, boring and repetive battles, completely outrages spawning of enemies (you'll see enemies come out of thin air right in front of your nose, and I'm talking well geared human warriors), barely any influence on the game's events, re-use of rooms/locations, over and over: all caves and house interiors are the same map and I'm not kidding, no secondary abilities like poison making or herbalism at all anymore, no armor customization of your party members, no lenghty discussions with party members, way to easy dialogue wheel (before you select an anwer, the icon will tell what the effect will be, like romance or aggression), absurd loot, entire game taking place in ONE city only, same locations used in all three acts (remember, those same locations consist of the same maps as well)…. I can go on, really I can, but will stop now. Don't buy this. Shame on you BioWare!

  • JonJon

    I'm honestly dissapointed

    Having played the first game, this felt more like an expansion than a whole game, and a bad one at that.
    It actually felt like a re-done version of NWN 2's Mask of the Betrayer.

    The game was very short, lacked depth, the new characters were completely worthless story-wise. They were dull, empty, and I never cared about them or needed them, really. The only one who had an interesting story was Anders, and his story was interesting in DA:A already, so just carried over.

    Pros:

    - Combat is a bit more "user friendly" than in past game

    - Graphics are nice

    Cons:

    - Repetitive to death. All the caves looked the same, and I got tired of walking through the same version of hightown looking for random gangs attacking me a-la NWN2.

    - Combat was too easy. I played this game on hardest setting, and the only thing I had trouble killing was the high dragon on the bone pit… (All my companions died, I was a damage warrior, eventually managed to kill it after 1 hour of hit and run to heal technics)

    - The story was bland, to say the least short of insulting it further. Everything happening in the story was OBVIOUS, nothing surprised me, I knew the next "twist" before I even got there.

    In short, this wasn't worth the money, and as a long-time Bioware fanatic, I've lost some of my respect for them and will think twice before buying their next product.

  • mgaskill

    Empty hollow shell of DA:O.
    I completed the game because I dropped 60 bucks on it. It felt like a 40 hour task, not an adventure.
    This game was obviously developed by Bioware's Department of Redundancy Department.

  • Volcanic

    Played DA II about 10 hours, then started to play DAO… Dragon Age II is boring, direct x11 support is heavy, you cant modify but your Hawke…

  • Joe Wheeler

    Overall very disappointed. It felt and looked rushed. The repetition of levels aka cave, mansion, and warehouse, was just a slap in the face to gamers. Did they think we would not notice?!? I don't know why Bioware did not invest more time into this game they could have waited a few more months and really made it a stronger title.

    They stripped away so many of the aspects that made Origins great such as long companion conversations, choosing your companions armor, crafting. And the end of the story line just fell flat. I thought Act 2 was great, best companion quests and overall plot of any game I have played, but Act 1 was tedious and Act 3 was over before anything significant happened.

    They also left so many aspects completely unanswered, and not in the cool cliff hanger way. Examples: Merrills Eluvian, Flemeth, any information about companion characters after the end of the quote unquote final battle. I also think it is dumb that this entire game was such a blatant set up for DA3, not cool Bioware. And don't even get me started on the race changes…….. My Dalish warden from origins better not have that weird nose when he shows up later in the series, if he shows up.

    I spent over 100 hours on Origins and played through it 4 times. I only spent about 35 on DA2. I do not plan on doing another play through and would not recommend this game to anyone, especially not fans of DA:O. Tips for Bioware: think more Baulder's Gate and less Mass Effect for Dragon Age 3 and maybe it won't crush my soul the way DA2 did.

  • DOA

    This game was a BLAST for the first hour or so. After that – it SUCKED TERRIBLY!! DO NOT buy this game; it is definitely not a role-playing game; rather a repetitious nightmare. The same thing over and over and over and over and……..

  • Sergio

    I started act 2, but i couldn't go any further.

    I already did all i could to get there.
    No matter how hard i tried the game kept telling me "STOP PLAYING THIS SHIT!".
    That damn boring city, those damn boring caves would never ever change.
    All the side quests looked like the same, an empty "go and come back" boring mission.

    I tried so hard to go trough the game just to see if the history would be worth something. But i couldn't ignore the lack of purpose, lack of areas, lack of creatures.

    The changes into combat and animations made it fun in the beginning, in the very beginning however.

    Placing a hundred quests into half a dozen caves was a sure failure and bioware knows that.
    How much did they pay for those review grades?

    I.e.: 9/10 from playstation magazine.
    Newsarama has reviewed Dragon Age II and the reviewer says "When I finally could come up with a word to describe my experience with Dragon Age 2 it was simply, "Epic."
    9/10 from X box official magazine.

    I Cant believe i spent my money into that. I wouldnt even play it for free.

  • DehSighGuy

    sigh..

    This is how they made the game…

    1. copy
    2. paste
    3. edit a bit
    4. release

    This game is like a very ugly twin of Final Fantasy 13. For the lols they should sell this game with FF13 in bundle.

  • Dannyboy

    I am disappointed in Dragon Age 2. It seems Bioware have succeeded in making the genre more playable to people who found Origins hard to get into, but at the expense of people who loved origins.

    So they obviously did something right, but took it a step too far. The big question is does Bioware even acknowledge that and as harsh as some people have been, I don't think the criticism is unfair. The use of recycled areas drastically sucks the mood out of the quests, the companions while being interesting enough, pale in comparison next to characters from Origins.

    While Origins might of been slight cheesy clinched at times, with the storyline and good versus evil, it was still well written and epic enough for you to feel engaged and entertained. Dragon Age 2's combat might be faster and more responsive, but the trade off is that they lost the level of tactical play Origins had. They maintain that they "streamlined" party members equipment to help them keep a distinct look, well imo they took out customization options, big ones like armour, when they could of just put a locked the appearance (Kind of like how DC on-line does)

    The thing is, Dragon Age 2 is still a ok game on it's own standing, but it absolutely falls short in comparison to Origins. This is not me hating Bioware, it's actually a testament to just how damn good origins was. I just hope Bioware listens, because fans of Origins are feeling very disappointed and let down, a lot of faith has been lost, and people will vote with their wallets next time around. . How can you consider a game a success if you manage to please a new set of people, but at the same time manage to alienate a huge percentage of fans from the original.

  • Mike in Santa Clara

    Chalk me up as another very disappointed customer. I loved DA:O and DA2 was one of those rare games that I was waiting excitedly to see and buy as soon as it appeared.

    Completely disappointed. Repetitive dungeons with only random grey impassable doors rearranged to make a difference, unappealing romance options – “Well. hmm. I guess I will settle for merrill over the whore and the ‘men’” – and a couple of characters so annoying that I actively avoided them or any quests related to them (Fenris? Who was that supposed to appeal to? 13 year old androgynous whiny emo-goths?)

    Maybe DA:O was just a rare accomplishment, actually developing emotional investment in characters. That was entirely missing from DA:2 – absolutely nobody worth caring about – unless the player had homosexual tendencies. And I don’t mean that in a disparaging way – DA:2 seems very much deliberately set up to provide more of a homosexual experience than DA:O – perhaps bioware was reacting to criticism that DA:O was too “straight?”

    And before someone says “No, that content is just available for potential Lady Hawkes” I need to point out the copious dialog from male characters centered around “man handling” my male-Hawke’s “manhood” that clearly wouldn’t be available or sensible for lady-hawkes.

    I understand that not every gamer is a heterosexual gamer, but I don’t understand the concept of “If the blatant homosexual content disturbs you, you are obviously a homophobe and the issue is yours” – couldn’t they at least have added “No homosexual content” or “No heterosexual content” checkboxes? Is that somehow giving in to some sort of bigotry? Games provide settings for “gore” level, why not “gay” level? This is the first game I’ve played with such overt, unavoidable homosexual content, and that, among the many mentioned shortcomings, left a very disappointed feeling with me that made me regret actually buying the game.

    A 40 hour uncomfortable task, not an adventure.

    • Kevin

      Sorry, but it is your problem if you’re bothered by vague (or even overt) homosexual references that can easily be dismissed by your character’s dialogue options.  This has nothing to do with why the game was inferior to DA 1, and your hyperboles and hyper-focus on the subject belie your feigned attempt at open-mindedness.